Student Leadership and Community Involvement at the Heart of the Trent Market Garden
Trent Market Garden launches first community supported agriculture program
Civic agriculture meets experiential learning at the Trent Market Garden (TMG). The student-run enterprise is a unique site for agriculture production that is specifically designed to meet the needs of its community and this summer, the TMG is launching its first community-supported agriculture (CSA) program and working with the Trent School of the Environment to employ students during the 2017 growing season.
The CSA program will help raise resources needed to operate the farm and hire students, all of which contributes to the development of a more sustainable food community at Trent. Through both the new CSA program and the collaboration with the Trent School of the Environment, the TMG will offer students the chance to acquire the practical skills needed for a career in small-scale farming and build a more personalized and direct connection with members of its community.
To build a culture of sustainability around food production, distribution and consumption, the TMG's CSA program offers members the chance to help lay the foundation of a viable and innovative student run market garden and help to build the capacities of future agriculturalists.
"The Trent Market Garden has made my experience at Trent University complete,” said Adam McLaughlin, second-year student in the master’s of Sustainability Studies program. “The TMG is a site where I am able to live what it is I am researching and is providing me the chance to build the necessary skills needed for a future career in small scale farming and sustainable agriculture.”
Shares in the TMG’s CSA program are a direct investment in the farm and all revenue generated from the sale of shares will be divided between wages for Trent University students, production and farm reinvestment, and community outreach. With the 2017 growing season about to start, the TMG is looking forward to undertaking this new and exciting program.
“The TMG's community supported agriculture program is not only a way to help fund the farm, but more importantly, it will help to ensure that the TMG continues to be a site for civic agriculture that offers future students the same chances to participate in experiential learning and the development of a more sustainable campus at Trent University," adds Mr. McLaughlin.